March 09, 2015...Opening Day is on the way. No, I’m not talking about baseball. Who cares about that? I’m talking about something much more important for all of us cyclists: It’s the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Opening Day on March 28 and there will be a Central Columbus event for the first time: The Camp Chase Trail Day.

Jul 12, 2013 ... Making them readily available for the everyday is a huge leap forward,” said JodyDzuranin of Consider Biking, which promotes cycling.

Northwest Civic Association might add territorySaturday April 20, 2013... This Week News By KEVIN PARKS People often turn to civic associations or area commissions for help in preventing development they feel might be detrimental to their neighborhood.

November 21, 2013

I respond to the Friday Dispatch article “More Ohioans die on road in 2012.” Ohio’s rate of crashes is so high, it has even raised the national statistics, which means we are lagging other states in taking action to address safety on our roadways.

As part of this phenomenon, we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of men and women killed while bicycling or walking on our roadways each year. We know that young people want to live in communities which embrace safe, active transportation. Ohio needs to do more.

People who bike and walk make up 16 percent of roadway fatalities, and yet less than 1 percent of safety funding is directed to infrastructure that would protect those biking and walking. A coalition of bipartisan House lawmakers has introduced the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act, which will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to set specific safety targets for all roadway users — not just motorists, but pedestrians and bicyclists, too.

The legislation would give the U.S. Department of Transportation the flexibility to determine the best method to meet these safety measures, and call on our leaders to reduce the number of people who are killed or injured on our streets every year.

This bill says clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important, and creates accountability toward preventing needless deaths. Without it, people who bike and walk will remain in the blind spot of our transportation system.

Please contact your congressional representative along with Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to ask them to vote for this straightforward, bipartisan bill, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act.

March 25, 2013

The National Bike Challenge is back for 2013 and a month longer this year. It starts May 1 and goes until September 30 this year.

Consider Biking will be hosting the Greater Columbus contest as well as supporting in other parts of the state. No matter where you live, when you sign up, you will be grouped in the correct challenge for your geographic area.

You can sign up today and starting gathering points during the warm-up period. Then May 1 all points reset to zero for the Challenge Period.

Make sure to get the mobile application for Endomondo, it makes ride logging very easy.

July 24, 2012

Check out a bike at Copenhagen’s ‘bike library’

Sure you can get around town on a standard bike — two wheels, a few gears, and a couple brakes — but there are also cargo bikes, electric bikes, folding bikes, recumbents, and even velomobiles. But these specialty bikes are expensive, so most people just stick to what’s familiar, and within the budget.

At Copenhagen’s Bicycle Innovation Lab, you can take these specialty bikes for a spin for days at a time using the organization’s “bicycle library.” Put down an $80 deposit and ride around on the bike for three to four days at a time. The idea behind the library is to give people the opportunity to test ride these more expensive bikes so that potential customers can get a better idea if they’re worth the investment.

“I see myself as a bicycle psychologist,” said Lasse Schelde, manager of the Bicycle Innovation Lab. “It’s about exploring the possibilities of bicyclism — it is an ‘ism’ because it’s not just a bicycle but a question of infrastructure, livable cities, health, the relationship between you as a person and society.”

It’s no surprise that Copenhageners would be interested in exploring different ways to get around on bike. The city is one of the best when it comes to bikeability. One-third of commuters do so by bike. And the city has answered demand by building a free bike share program and a new cycling superhighway. Now you just might see people using the new infrastructure with a fancy ride.

Hi, my name is [[your name]] and I live in [[city/town]]. With whom am I speaking?

2)

I�m calling to ask that [[your representative's name]] maintain the Cardin-Cochran agreement in the Transportation Bill, and ensure that Transportation Alternatives not allow states to opt-out of local control over local transportation projects, including biking and walking improvements.

3)

The bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement in the Senate transportation bill would ensure that local governments can access 1 - 2% of federal transportation dollars for local projects.

4)

Local officials, who govern closest to the communities they serve, need an opportunity to guide funding for local projects such as biking and walking improvements.

5)

It is essential that biking and walking programs not include a state opt-out provision. When the state controls all funding, small, local projects fall between the cracks and local officials lose the opportunity to use transportation funds to address local transportation needs. Will [[your representative's name]] preserve the bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement and ensure that Transportation Alternatives not allow states to opt-out of local control?

June 06, 2012

HOME > POP UP CITY > POP UP ROCKWELL POP UP ROCKWELL a complete and green street experiment Pop Up Rockwell is a one-week experiment to test "complete & green street" improvements on downtown Cleveland's Rockwell Avenue (between W. Roadway and E. 6th Street), which took place during April 21-27, 2012. The week-long installation was the culmination of a five week graduate urban design studio involving the research, design, installation and evaluation of proposed street transformations. Pop Up Rockwell gives city officials, bicycling advocacy groups and members of the public an opportunity to experience and respond to a future vision of the city in three dimensions, in a real environment, before large financial and political commitments are made. The project builds on the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative's (CUDC) expertise in temporary urbanism developed through Pop Up City, an initiative started by the CUDC in 2007. The project is led by graduate students at Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, but involves partnership with several stakeholder groups representing advocacy organizations, non-profits, municipal government, federal agencies and local businesses. The installations built by CUDC graduate students included Cleveland’s first cycle track, stormwater bio-filtration benches, enhanced transit waiting areas and wind animated public art. Lessons learned from the short-term project may influence permanent changes on Rockwell Avenue and the temporary use model will hopefully become more widely used in other public engagement processes. A full project report including details on the installations, design process, lessons learned and additional temporary use resources can be downloaded here. The idea for Pop Up Rockwell emerged as a response to the desire of Clevelanders to see on-the-ground action in the typical lull between planning and final implementation. The project tackles design questions posed by two initiatives undertaken by the City of Cleveland, which will significantly impact the physical environment of the city: the Complete & Green Streets ordinance and the Group Plan Commission report. In 2011, Cleveland City Council passed the Complete & Green Streets ordinance requiring 20% of the money spent on road projects to cover the costs of amenities for bicyclists, pedestrians and persons with disabilities. The ordinance also necessitates considerations for energy efficiency and stormwater management in all projects. Cleveland's local bicyling community and environmental advocates are eager to see follow through on the language found in the legislation. The second initiative Pop Up Rockwell supports is the Group Plan Commission report, released in May 2011, which included a recommendation to transform Rockwell Avenue into "Cleveland's Green Street showpiece." Rockwell Avenue could serve as a connective spine between several key sites in the Group Plan report, including the Warehouse District, Burnham Mall and Public Square. The intention is that a physical, albeit non-permanent, example of a complete and green street may help grow public awareness of the Complete and Green Street ordinance and build political support for permanent implementation of the Group Plan Commission's recommendations. Download the Final Report! (30 MB PDF) Additional resources: Download the Midterm Review Presentation! Download the Pop Up Rockwell studio syllabus! Press: Introducing Cleveland to cycle tracks at next week's pop up block | GreenCityBlueLake Institute [April 12, 2012] Pop Up Rockwell will rock what's possible for Cleveland's downtown streets | Cleveland Plain Dealer [April 20, 2012] Kent State University urban planners mount bike-friendly event in heart of downtown Cleveland | The Associated Press [April 21, 2012] Cleveland street goes 'green' in urban experiment | WKYC-TV [April 25, 2012] The project is supported by the George Gund Foundation and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, in partnership with GreenCityBlueLake Institute, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Bike Cleveland, The Bike Rack, City of Cleveland, Group Plan Commission and Cleveland Public Library.

March 29, 2012

My experience at this year's League of American BicyclistsNational Bike Summit in Washington DC can best be described as a true life “connect the dots” puzzle. When you begin a dot-to-dot puzzle, it is bunch of random data points, but as each dot is connected the “bigger picture” emerges.

In our case, the dots were the Senators and Congressional Representatives and the lines are formed with each visit by our 17 Ohio delegates. We prodded through the halls of 5 different buildings, visiting 20 offices while expressing our request, “please support bicycle and pedestrian funding because it creates vibrant communities and positive economic impact.” The layout of the offices is an illustration of the challenges of navigating the political process. We jumped through lots of hoops to “get in”. I personally removed my high-heeled shoes 5 times over the course of the day to get through the various metal detection systems. (Oh yes, the “price” of freedom.) Our delegation was geographically diverse and even the first timers were proactive in their research and stepped up to the challenge. We had representation from Dayton, Athens and 3 who covered the whole state. We had no constituents from the Cincinnati area, so that is a goal for next year.

My highpoint of the week was connecting the dots between the Columbus and Cleveland delegations. Last year there was only one delegate from the Cleveland area and technically, she had already moved to Portland, OR. So to have 5 engaged delegates from the NE Ohio region was a huge leap forward. We formed connections that will only grow stronger from here.

Our meetings ran the whole spectrum, we visited with some leaders who have been supportive in the past and we thanked them for their continued support. We also visited with leaders who were cold and distant and did not want to hear our message. However, they still gave us the cursory meeting and I have to believe at least a seed was planted. They know if they vote against bike-ped funding they are going to hear from “the bike pin people”. On a recent Outspoken Cyclist podcast, Rich Olken surmised that 1 phone call to congress is equivalent to 100 emails and 1 in person visit is like 100 phone calls. So think about the impact our 20 in person meetings had, the equivalent of 200,000 emails! Rich Olken started an informal Bike Lobby day, which has now evolved into today's Advocacy Day with over 800 participants from 49 states. As I write this, the House is scrambling to come up with a Transportation Bill which can get enough votes to pass. They have already pulled 2 off the floor which did not have enough votes. We will keep working toward transportation funding which recognizes that active transportation is part of America’s future - we can’t just move automobiles and expect to thrive as a Nation.

March 27, 2012

March 18, 2012

I continue to be amazed by the so called bike advocates in this town who fight against bike accomodations like bike lanes and a bike share system. It is no wonder the city is kind of slow in their implementation of bike stuff, they are gun shy. This fall the city started installing bike shelters - nice covered bike rack areas and then suddenly some bike riders are crapping their pants that they cost too much! The city has also installed many miles of sharrows and they can't catch a break - half the people say sharrows suck and are not good enough - we MUST have bike lanes. The other half hate them because they believe it makes car drivers think that a bicyclist is ONLY allowed to ride on streets that have the bike markings.

We are up for the bikes belong Green Lanes Project and I really hope they choose Columbus. If any city could benefit from having some PROFESSIONAL and unbiased guidance - it is this place! What a challenge we will be. Part of the problem here is that you have hundreds of bike advocates with different ideas of what it is going to take to make the city better for bike riders. I am pretty convinced that a handful of them have NO interest in getting more people out there to join them, they just want to make it better for the brave people that already ride. They really don't want to deal with the mainstream people that would join the roads if it really was a more bike friendly city.

Here is the video from the Green Lanes project. Man oh Man I hope they pick us, then get ready for the hardest work ahead - getting this disparate group of passionate advocates to actualy start pedaling together in a constructive, productive direction.

It's just that his title puzzles me, is he questioning the journalist integrity of Columbus Underground or Consider Biking? I guess either way the next step is to take it up with our respective editorial review boards.

I often try to give the impression that I don't care about stuff, but honestly, I care a lot. I care that a reader can feel assured that he/she can state facts found on this blog and be able to quote this blog without making an ass of his/herself. Sure I

I will summarize my beef so that readers who are uninterested in bicycle gossip can live their lives. A press statement (discussed below) had some inaccuracies whilst reporting on the state of bicycling in Columbus. With that said, Columbus could be a lot more bike friendly which includes increasing bicycling infrastructure.

Recently, Consider Biking has been working on "Connect the Core" which aims to add bicycle lanes or bicycle tracks downtown. Within their summary, the cost for 12+ miles of bike lanes would cost ~$140,000, this is less than what we've been spending on the bike shelters. Although I'm iffy on bike lanes, that's a relatively good price and sometimes a city should just dive in.